Moving pipeline from Whig Creek to river is better for environment, environmental consultant saysBy Scarlet SimsReporter

The effects of allowing City Corp. of Russellville to adjust its outflow from Whig Creek to the Arkansas River has been thoroughly studied, said Morteza "Mo" Shafii, technical assistant manager with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

"We have to use the data that's available," Shafii said Tuesday night at Arkansas Tech University, adding if new data arose suggesting a negative environmental impact, the outfall would be remodified.

"We do our (own) research. We have a problem with nitrates and copper (in Whig Creek). We have the data, it's our job to check on those," he said to about 20 people from Pope and Yell counties, including Russellville and Dardanelle leaders, about the process of granting City Corp. a permit to move its outflow pipeline and answering questions during the public hearing.

A Powerpoint presentation stated the purpose of the hearing was to provide an opportunity for the public to give formal, oral testimony on the proposed permit.

Running Russellville's waste outfall to the Arkansas River instead of Whig Creek, which eventually goes into the same river, would be better for the environment, said Philip Massirer, water resources engineer with FTN Associates, City Corp.'s consultant firm.

Whig Creek is on the impaired water bodies list, and the new pipeline would help clean the creek, Massirer said. The river would also dilute waste more quickly than the creek could, because Whig Creek has no flow capacity.

Without City Corp.'s outfall, the creek would dry up during the summer, said Craig Noble, general manager of City Corp., Russellville's water utility.

City Corp.'s plan to pipe wastewater to the river is not considered a new permit, but a modification of the existing permit for Whig Creek.

The proposed permit would allow an outflow of about 7.3 million gallons per day, according to a handout at the public hearing. The permit would allow City Corp. to build about 1,400 feet downstream of the Highway 7 overpass bridge and about 600 feet upstream from the mouth of Whig Creek with the outfall located at the bottom of the river. A diffuser would be used, Shafii said.

More than eight years ago, City Corp. was denied a permit for an outfall close to the Dardanelle Lock and Dam. ADEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied the permit because the water in that area either was or became impaired.

But the EPA, along with about four other agencies, approved this modified permit. Those agencies included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Arkansas Department of Heritage, Shafii said.

In the future, the amount of pollutants allowed into the river could be increased to account for additional industrial waste or city growth. ADEQ could adjust the permit later, Shafii said.

He said the effects of the modified permit were reviewed.

"The EPA reviewed our permit," Shafii said, adding it usually took five days to review a permit, but the agency reviewed this one for 30 days.

ADEQ is supposed to protect water designated as drinking water, which is what Whig Creek has been designated. The creek is not currently being used for water supply, Noble said.

Because the creek no longer meets the environmental standards, the outfall line needs to be moved, he said.

The proposed location, however, puts the outfall directly across from one of Dardanelle's main aquifers, used for drinking water. It also puts recreational and fishing facilities at risk, said Jim Wood, a volunteer with the Yell County Wildlife Federation.

He said the outfall affected the region and may require a full environmental impact statement (EIS). The risks justified further study, he said.

"The state health department says the well (Dardanelle aquifer) is directly replenished by the river," Wood said after the public hearing.

He noted the outfall was outside Russellville and effected Dardanelle and Yell County more directly.

"That's where the controversy is," he said of the placement.

Joint resolution

To further complicate the matter, on May 12, 2002, City Corp. and Russellville signed a certified, joint resolution to put the outfall line below Dardanelle's city limits in exchange for Dardanelle's help to raise funds for the project, estimated to cost about $4.5 million.

The resolution is signed by Mayors Carolyn McGee and Raye Turner, the clerks from the three parties and then City Corp. chairman.

Dardanelle recently filed a lawsuit against Russellville and City Corp. over the proposed outfall site.

The permit is not final until after ADEQ reviews and responds to public's and City Corp.'s comments, Shafii said. After that, the permit may be issued or denied.

The public can send a written comment to ADEQ until July 12 at 4:30 p.m. Comments can be e-mailed to shafii@adeq.state.ar.us or sent to Mo Shafii, ADEQ Water Division; P.O. Box 8913; Little Rock, Ark. 72219-8913.